Jesus Camp

Since I have so few cable channels here, I rent videos that I've wanted to see, but never did. I recently rented a documentary entitled, "Jesus Camp." The movie was eye opening, and in truth a bit terrifying. The film follows Evangelical Christian children, ages 7-13, who are devout in their faith and beliefs. The film is set in Missouri, a place I've never visited, and after this movie, highly doubt will be placed on my list of 'must visit'.

The minister in the film is a woman, whose preaching is in the vein of traditional Evangelicals, yet with a message tailored for kids. There is the impassioned rhetoric, lots of Jesus references, lots of talk about the devil, but with the use of props. She feels that kids are the perfect vessels for God's message. Hmmm. Where does one start? I've written about my own faith, and my own practice of my faith. Part of what I appreciate about Catholicism is its rituals, which are theatrical in a quiet way. A Mass is devoid of the drama that other Protestant faiths seem to use in place of rituals, particularly in the Evangelical Churches. No one faints during a Mass unless they are suffering a true medical emergency. Any tears shed by the Parishioners is subdued, not part of the theater of the service.

As a Christian, watching this movie made me question how my own Christianity differed so greatly from everyone that this movie followed. My Christianity, as I've been taught, is about compassion, forgiveness, acceptance, and stewardship. It is not about judgment, exhortations against 'sinners'--basically everyone that doesn't believe what I believe, sanctimony, political savvy, and proselytizing. It was terribly distressing to see how faith is being used as the leverage against all those things that make a society diverse, stimulating, and challenging, namely all the arts, and personal freedoms. Watching the fervor in kids so young was eye opening. Also, I had no idea that "speaking in tongues" was something that actually happened, and apparently with some frequency in Evangelical churches. I'd always thought this was something that happened in medieval times and certainly not today in the 21st Century and in a place like Missouri.

This "camp" was a far cry from the church retreats I attended where breaking the rules was part of the expectation as we boarded buses headed for those woodsy camps. These church retreats were where I had some of the most fun, involving boys, sneaking in beers, and pranks against one another. In truth, I actually can't remember any of the religious lessons we were there to learn. The only signs that this was a religious week were the hour daily mass and the prayers said before each meal. The rest of our time was spent having fun, breaking up for volleyball games, swimming, and listening to cassette tapes of the newest music on boom boxes. We weren't listening to Christian Rock, but instead we were obsessed with Michael Jackson's album, Thriller. I think we also listened to tons of Journey--it was the early 80's--and Foreigner.

The funniest moment of the documentary was when the preacher admonished the kids for reading Harry Potter since he, the character, was a sorcerer, and therefore doing the work of the Devil. Frightening, isn't it? These kids read Christian books, listen to Christian music--who knew there was Christian rap? Their entire world, and particularly cultural world, is experienced through this very narrow lens of Christianity. They are not allowed to dance unless it is expressly for God. One little girl talked about how she loves to dance--to really bad Christian music--but how she has to make sure she's not dancing for vanity, but dancing with God's consent. She was a mere 8 or 9 years old, her world already defined in the narrowest definition of what is virtuous and what is not. Most home schooled kids are Evangelicals, their parent's way of insuring their kids' piety by controlling what they learn. Creationism, anyone? Global warning--most of these families drive large, gas guzzling SUV's--is fictional propaganda created by "liberals." There is no Global warning, instead all of the severe weather is God's work as punishment for a world filled with 'sinners'. I believe our President, whom they adore and admire, used this same argument as he went about demolishing any environmental gains we had made as a country. Although, he, I'm afraid, is less moved by faith as by the big pockets of special interests. So, as these Christians pray, bring on the hurricanes, bring on the drought, bring on the flooding, bring it all on because when the world explodes--isn't that what the Old Testament says basically--they will be saved or be guaranteed their entrance into the Holy Land while the rest of us will be extinguished.

As a parent, I doubt I will allow my son to listen to all the explicit rap, especially that are misogynistic and violent. I am also the mean mommy monitor about movies since I find so few of them appropriate in the messages I want him to be exposed to. We already know he will not be allowed video games or his own computer. When I think about it, I spend most of my time limiting his exposure to a culture that is saturated in bad taste, violence, gender stereotypes, and hyper sexuality. Hmmm. Am I that different from those Evangelical parents, who have decided that nothing popular culture has to offer is in line with their beliefs? So, my beliefs are shaped less by my Christian faith as it is by feminism, humanism, and an aesthetic snobbishness, yet I censor like all those people I deemed, "Crazy."

Perhaps this religious fervor that has taken hold in the center of our country is in response to all the excesses of our current culture? As rules about previous social taboos gets relaxed, particularly in media, the greater the divide. I am a person of faith, but also an artist. I am liberal, yet find myself censoring everything my child views, reads, and buys. Does that mean I'm merely steps away from looking for a church that offers protection from all that seems wrong with our world? And a teeny step away from speaking in tongues?